الجمعة 29-03-2024 12:37:09 م : 19 - رمضان - 1445 هـ
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The Houthization of the State.. Why are the Houthis battling the Yemeni identity?

الثلاثاء 16 أغسطس-آب 2022 الساعة 06 مساءً / alislah-ye.net - Exclusive
 

 

By: Zuhur al-Yemeni

 

What terrifies the Houthi militia substantially is the pride of Yemenis in their identity, history and civilization, which made this militia rush to target future generations by distorting school curricula, holding sectarian courses promoting Iranian Shiite thought, obliterating Yemeni symbols, falsifying history and destroying historic monuments and evidence, manuscripts and writings that had been written by scholars of Yemen in different historical eras.

The Houthi militia can't seem to get enough of devoting its dependency on the Iranian regime however has additionally tried to obliterate the Yemeni identity and take as a substitute for the Persian one. Last year, the militia celebrated the occasion of the graduation of the first class of Persian language from Sanaa University under the title of the Iranian Quds Force commander (Qassem Soleimani), in a step preceded by way of comparable steps within a general trend towards devoting absolute dependency on Iran.

The professor of history at Sana’a University (F. T.) informed us about this issue, saying: "Since the Houthi militia seized historical documents and monuments, most of these references have been recorded as lost, so that it can later re-compose history, where all indications point to a Houthi rush to obliterate the Yemeni identity and replace it with the Persian one in order to establish absolute dependency on Iran."

e warned by saying: “The Houthis’ control over the institutions concerned with history, heritage and education constitute a real threat to the heritage and history of the identity of an entire people. The militia that seized the historical manuscripts in the ancient city of Zabid and smuggled Hebrew manuscripts to Israel for millions of dollars, will not hesitate to hide and perhaps destroy the rest of the heritage Yemenis, who condemns the era of dynastic rule.

 

Changing the names of a national monuments and symbols:

In a flagrant violation of the historical Yemeni indication, the symbolic national sites and its quest to obliterate the national identity, the Houthi militia replaced the names of its dead, leaders and different sectarian names for the names of Islamic national and historical monuments and figures in a number of intellectual, literary, scientific and political fields.

 

The names of a number of public parks in the capital, Sana'a, have been modified and replaced with different names of sectarian and dynastic nature. Where the militia modified the name of the "Unknown Soldier" park to the "al-Sammad Martyr" park, a few years after it blatantly attacked the the unknown Soldier’s Memorial, turning it into a "tomb of the al-Sammad" and constructing a massive sculpture that turned into a shrine for Houthi supporters.

Also, the name of al-Tahrir Square, which symbolizes the revolution in opposition to the Imamate and its defeat, has been modified to "al-Sumoud Square and the militia also approved modifying the name of the Republican Palace in Sana'a to the Headquarters of the Supreme Political Council.

The name of the "Imam al-Tabari" park was once additionally modified to the "Martyrs of al-Tabari" park, in honor of the dead of coup, who are sons of the al-Tabari neighborhood, who kill at the hands of the national army.

Also, the militia modified the name of "48 Model Hospital", whose name got here in honor of the year that witnessed the first Yemeni uprising in the twentieth century in opposition to the Imamate regime in 1948, to "Al-Sammad Hospital".

The name of the AL-SABEEN MATERNITY & CHILD HOSPITAL was also modified to Al-Sammad Hospital. It should be noted here that the name of the Sabeen Maternity and Child Hospital is related to a decisive combat between the Republic and the Imamate, which besieged Sanaa for 70 days, beginning from November 28, 1967, to February 7, 1968, and ended with the defeat of the Imamate.

In addition, the name of July 17 Hospital has been modified to Abu Harb Hospital and July Camp to Abu Harb Camp. This Abu Harb is one of the prominent Houthi leaders, and he was killed in the ranks of the militia.

In the context of its efforts exerted to obliterate the symbols of the Republic revolting against the Imamate regime, the Houthi militia canceled the name of the Martyr Al-Olufi Hospital in the city of Hudaydah and turned it into the West Coast Medical Teaching Hospital, in addition to modifying the name of 22 May Hospital in the city of Amran to Al-Sammad Hospital.

In a measure that contradicts the values of knowledge and science, educational schools and institutions were also part of the Houthis’ goal to change their identity, where this militia launched a wide campaign to change the names of state schools, which include basic education stages, especially those bearing names related to Yemeni history (September Revolution) for example.

The militia changed the names of a number of schools in Sana’a Governorate, including the School of Khalid bin Al-Walid has been changed to Imam Al-Hadi, the founder of the Zaidi state in Yemen, the School of Omar Al-Mukhtar to Ali bin Al-Hussein, the School of Al-Farouq to Imam Zaid ben Ali, the School of Babil to September 21 and the School of Othman bin Affan to “Malik Al-Ashtar,

The School of the Martyr Ali Abdel-Mughni name - the architect of the September 26th revolution - has been changed to the Hassan bin Ali School, the School of Ibn Majid to the School of Martyr Al-Qudaymi and the School of Jamal Jamil to the School of Al-Sammad.

Regarding Hajjah Governorate, the names of the Schools have been changed to different names as follows: An-Nasr to Martyr Abu Turab Al-Abed", Al-Fath to Imam Zain Al-Abidin, Al-Khair to the September 21, and Al-Mansourah to Martyr the Leader, Al-Zubairi to Al-Imam Al-Hadi, Al-Farouq to Malik Al-Ashtar, Omar Al-Mukhtar to the Martyr Judge Ahmed Al-Jarab, An-Nidhal to Martyr Al-Sammad, the July 17 to Al-Sayida Zainab bint Ali”, Al-Mithaq to Imam Hassan bin Ali.

In its attempt to insult science and the educational process aimed at obliterating the national identity that it has always offended, the militia replaced the names of 23 lecture halls at Dhamar University - these names had national connotations - with the names of its leaders who were killed at the hand of the Yemeni army on the fronts.

The names of a number of halls at Amran University were also replaced with the names of the militia leaders and their symbols, where the Great Hall was changed to Saleh Al-Sammad Hall, the Martyr Al-Qardei Hall was changed to The Martyr Al-Sammad Hall, and the 26 September Hall was changed to the September 21 Hall, the date on which the militia invaded the capital, Sana'a, and seized state institutions.

 

The scream relationship with Iran:

At the beginning of 2002, Hussein Badr ad-Din al-Houthi began to chant the scream in al-Hadi Mosque in Saada Governorate, and that event was the spark of the first war that ignited against the Houthis in 2004. As a result of this war, Hussein al-Houthi was killed before the Yemeni army fought six wars against the Houthi group, the last of these wars ended at the beginning of 2010. The Houthis consider that date as "the announcement of the launch of the Qur'anic project", as described by their leader in a speech on this occasion in 2016.

The Houthi slogan has no Yemeni extension and is not specific to the Houthi militia. Rather, it is a slogan launched by Iran during the revolution that overthrew the Shah’s regime, in November 1979, after the storming of the US embassy in Tehran by supporters of the Iranian revolution led by Khomeini.

The Iranian regime has worked to export the Scream slogan to all its militias in the world, including the Houthi militias, which annually celebrate Scream Day, in which they launch events in most government and private institutions, as well as preparing Friday sermons.

At the present time, the slogan of the Scream is imposed in schools, mosques, and various Houthi activities. This Scream was also added in the amendments that included the school curricula, in an attempt to instill their sectarian identity that does not resemble the Yemenis.

 

The emergence of the summer centers:

The sectarian courses implemented by the Houthi militia under the title of summer centers represent one of the most prominent means that help them to attract children and youth to the battle fronts, as they are a real brain washing for these children and youth, so what is the relationship between summer centers and the obliteration of national identity?

The professor at the College of Education at Sana’a University (K. Y) answers our question by saying: "For the militia, the summer centers obtain their significance from the militia realization that Yemenis of all affiliations, colors and regions reject the Houthi priestly project. Therefore, these summer centers fall within a dynastic project under Iranian supervision, where their plans have been drawn up at the beginning of the establishment of the so-called (Council of Elders of Al al-Bayt) in the early eighties."

“These centers target children between the ages of six and eighteen for the ease of forming and instilling extremist ideas in their minds, obliterating the republic’s project and building a fanatic generation that believes in the project of tyranny and individual rule, a generation that sanctifies the dynasty and does not believe in the project of the state, the republic and the national struggle, a generation devoid of the liberal cultural awareness, a generation who does not derive its cultural awareness from our great Islamic values, which call for justice, equality and freedom.

He added saying: "Because of the importance of these summer centers, the militia allocates huge budgets to equip and inaugurate these centers. This militia is working to deploy its members in neighborhoods and mosques to collect donations for them and to use civil society organizations and charities to support these centers. Reports indicate that the militia has allocated an amount exceeding one and a half million US dollars for this year.

He continued: “According to the militia’s media, the number of summer centers this year has reached about 7,000, receiving 748,000 students of both sexes, who were subjected to sectarian awareness programs that lasted for two months. These programs pose a real danger to the national constants, the correct faith and destroy the Yemeni identity and moderate thought, and the fragmentation of the Yemeni societal fabric that preserves the values of tolerance, brotherhood, partnership, diversity and acceptance of the other, and contribute to the continuation of the implementation of the plan for sectarian change and its generalization by force.

He concluded his speech by saying: “There is no doubt that these summer centers will have catastrophic effects that will reflect on education in Yemen in the future, as they seek to build an educational and intellectual system that incites violence, drawing on dynastic ideologies that sanctify the symbols of the dynasty, glorify elect and claim the divine right to rule by force, and target the Holy Qur’an, the companions of the Prophet Peace be upon him, falsify Yemeni history, promote Iranian history and try to inspire the Khomeinist revolution, at the expense of Yemeni identity.”

 

The Houthis' Means to scrape off National Identity:

Mosques: Seizing them, imposing those imbued with Iranian thought on mosques, preventing the memorization of the Holy Qur’an, and terrorizing preachers.

Education Institutions: Demolition of institutions, stultification, changing cadres, changing curricula and controlling specializations.

Scarping off education in schools: Non-payment of salaries, filling school days with holidays and camps, replacing the national anthem with the custodianship slogan, radio mobilization, courses and changing curricula.

Media: Satellite channels, a large number of radio stations and magazines, some of which target children.

History and antiquities: Changing the names of streets and schools, obliterating national symbols, looting documents and museums, smuggling antiquities and manuscripts, burning libraries and replacing national slogans and holidays with sectarian ones.

 

Features of the Houthi-Iranian cultural relationship:

Sending Houthi students to study in Tehran and rehabilitating them intellectually.

Reproduction of Iranian rituals, including funerals and beatings on the breasts.

Translating Shiite books and publishing them in Yemen.

Spreading Iranian culture, including spreading Iranian-nature billboards and banners in the streets.

Organizing cultural courses according to the khawzas in Iran.

Unifying the language of speech.

Agreement in dealing with events.

Media training of Houthi cadres.

Adopting Houthis by Iran and supports them in the media.

 

Appointments for national identity erasure:

The Houthi leader, Yahya Hajib, director of educational media and the educational channel in Sanaa, sent a letter he described as urgent to the Ministry of Civil Service in the government of the putschists, which included the dismissal of 50 media professionals and educational employees working in the educational media sector and the educational channel of the Ministry of Education. He attached a list of 50 people - who were brought from Sa'ada, whose only qualification is their ideological affiliation with the militia - to be replaced the official employees who have been working in these institutions for the past two decades.

He also entrusted the tasks of managing the educational channel’s work to the contracted persons, while the old employees were prevented from carrying out their work, as a result of the refusal of many of them to attend Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s lectures, which are held every Wednesday inside the channel’s headquarters, which Hajib considered a rebellion by the employees, for which they should be punished.

In addition, the militia resorted to a comprehensive change in the Ministry of Education, in one of the largest processes of restructuring and administrative change in government institutions, where the percentage of Hashemite families in the educational leadership in the ministry reached 87%, starting with the minister and his secretary, passing through the deputy, ten Ministry undersecretaries and 16 general managers, which is the largest exclusion of experts and qualified cadres of ministry workers who are not affiliated with the militia.

Whereas Abdul Qader al-Mahdi was appointed as Director of the Education Office in the Capital Municipality, Hadi Ammar in Sana’a, Abdul Rahman al-Dharafi in Saada, Muhammad Hassan al-Hadi in Dhamar, Abdullah al-Shami in Ibb, Omar Bahr in Hodeidah, Taha al-Hamzi in Hajjah, Ibrahim Hammoud al-Zain in al-Mahwit, Abdul Khaliq al-Sarari and after his death he was replaced by Abdul-Jalil al-Jaafari in the Education Office in Taiz.

Leaders loyal to the militia were also appointed in the rest of the Governorates, in which a change of educational leadership was monitored, such as Yousef al-Lagheb (Al-Jawf), Zaid Rattas (Amran), Sarhan Saleh Sawad (Al-Bayda), and Ali al-Zaydi (Marib).

According to the scale approved by the Houthi, approximately 70% of those in charge of educational positions are Hashemites, while the rest are extremist elements loyal to the militia.

At the level of institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Education, Ahmed al-Rubaee was appointed as Secretary-General of the UNESCO, Ibrahim al-Houthi as Head of the Educational Research and Development Center, Ahmed al-Kibsi as Head of the Literacy and Adult Education Authority, Hussein Amer as Executive Director of the General Organization for Printing Textbook and as Executive Director of the Teacher Support and Education Fund, Yahya al-Zaidi as Dean of Al-Shawkani Institute for Teacher Education and Training and Fayez Zahfa as Dean of the Central Institute for Educational Capacity Development.

كلمات دالّة

#Yemen